mbgaski
Seaman
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2010
- Messages
- 54
Ok - just forewarning I keep my boat at my parent's house (HOA Regulations) so I don't have immediate access to it to check stuff but I've got as much info as I can.
Engine: 2010 Mercury 40 HP EFI 4-stroke
About 4 weeks ago we were out with the boat cruising along normally and I heard a loud "CLANK" and the engine shut off. Tried a couple more times to start it and it wouldn't crank for probably two hours. After a few hours I tried to crank it and it fired up but then ran really rough when I went to put it in gear. We shut it off and called a family member for a tow back.
Back at the house we cleaned out the fuel filter, checked the spark plugs, etc, and then tried the boat - it cranked up and seemed to run fine. Since I was working on the boat anyways I went ahead and changed the engine oil and the lower unit oil. The lower unit oil didn't look milky - it was very dark black though the amount that drained out did seem a lower than it should have been.
Took the boat out again and got a little ways down the river and I'd get a momentary loss of power every few minutes. I did see a bit of oil in the water when we stopped but I'm thinking that may have just been oil that was on the outer casing from the oil change.
Anyways we started back to the boat ramp at lower throttle and about half-way back the engine started running really rough and shaking. We eased back to idle speed and it limped along just a little further but then got rough at idle speeds. Put the engine in reverse and it ran along ok for a while in reverse before it started doing the same thing and then we were able to run it idling in reverse for the last little bit to make it back.
Now, with muffs on the engine is still running rough if I put it in gear - but it pretty much purrs along fine if i fast idle it in neutral. To me it seems like there's an issue with the lower unit (probably) or the prop hub (preferable) since the power head seems to run fine if it's not turning the prop.
I'm trying to diagnose this and take care of it myself as it's simply not within my budget to have a professional fix it anytime soon (it'd be next year). And I tend to try learn my equipment that I own anyways.
Basically what I'm looking for is a good method to determine if the prop is the culprit or if the lower unit needs to be replaced. Can I take the prop off and run the motor without it to see if still has issues? I don't think I'd have any issues replacing the lower (likely with a new SEI or maybe a used unit if I can find one) or the prop I just want to make sure I'm replacing the component that actually needs to be replaced.
Thanks!
Engine: 2010 Mercury 40 HP EFI 4-stroke
About 4 weeks ago we were out with the boat cruising along normally and I heard a loud "CLANK" and the engine shut off. Tried a couple more times to start it and it wouldn't crank for probably two hours. After a few hours I tried to crank it and it fired up but then ran really rough when I went to put it in gear. We shut it off and called a family member for a tow back.
Back at the house we cleaned out the fuel filter, checked the spark plugs, etc, and then tried the boat - it cranked up and seemed to run fine. Since I was working on the boat anyways I went ahead and changed the engine oil and the lower unit oil. The lower unit oil didn't look milky - it was very dark black though the amount that drained out did seem a lower than it should have been.
Took the boat out again and got a little ways down the river and I'd get a momentary loss of power every few minutes. I did see a bit of oil in the water when we stopped but I'm thinking that may have just been oil that was on the outer casing from the oil change.
Anyways we started back to the boat ramp at lower throttle and about half-way back the engine started running really rough and shaking. We eased back to idle speed and it limped along just a little further but then got rough at idle speeds. Put the engine in reverse and it ran along ok for a while in reverse before it started doing the same thing and then we were able to run it idling in reverse for the last little bit to make it back.
Now, with muffs on the engine is still running rough if I put it in gear - but it pretty much purrs along fine if i fast idle it in neutral. To me it seems like there's an issue with the lower unit (probably) or the prop hub (preferable) since the power head seems to run fine if it's not turning the prop.
I'm trying to diagnose this and take care of it myself as it's simply not within my budget to have a professional fix it anytime soon (it'd be next year). And I tend to try learn my equipment that I own anyways.
Basically what I'm looking for is a good method to determine if the prop is the culprit or if the lower unit needs to be replaced. Can I take the prop off and run the motor without it to see if still has issues? I don't think I'd have any issues replacing the lower (likely with a new SEI or maybe a used unit if I can find one) or the prop I just want to make sure I'm replacing the component that actually needs to be replaced.
Thanks!
